Can You Get Toxic Shock Syndrome From Having Sex?

Series Summary

Toxic shock syndrome, or TSS, is a rare, but potentially fatal disease caused by toxins released by certain bacterias. Infections can occur via the skin, from cuts or surgery, the vagina, from tampons or the pharnyx from bacterial infections. Despite the popular belief that only women can get TSS from wearing tampons for too long, all people can contract toxic shock syndrome if certain bacteria are present. In this free video series on medical conditions, a family practitioner explains toxic shock syndrome. Find out the causes of toxic shock syndrome, the symptoms and how it spreads through the body. Get information on what happens to the body during TSS and what treatments are used to cure the disease. Learn important information on this life-threatening disease from these free videos.

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. Savage. I'm here to discuss whether you can get toxic shock syndrome from having sex. Most commonly, the answer is no. Of course, there's always exception to the rule, but most likely not. A couple of ways in which theoretically it can happen, is if the female leaves a tampon in while having intercourse and she happens to loose the tampon and leaves the tampon for an extended period of time inside of her, that can happen that way. Or, any other foreign objects such as a contraceptive sponge. Another way that it can happen is if there is a wound to wound type of contact, and of course any type, part of the body, but sexually speaking if there is wound to wound contact, theoretically that can also cause transmission of toxic shock types of bacteria. This concludes discussing whether you can get toxic shock syndrome from having sex. I'm confident this has been helpful. Here's to your health."